


go save the world, i'll be around

by tmylm



Series: the wreck we made [5]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Bechloe AU, F/F, Smut, bechloe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:06:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27290176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmylm/pseuds/tmylm
Summary: It's hard sometimes, juggling a music career and a family. But they make it work.Set in The Wreck We Made universe, but works as a standalone story, too!
Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Series: the wreck we made [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1701175
Comments: 16
Kudos: 66





	go save the world, i'll be around

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter title from Taylor Swift's _Superman_.

Performance days are always hectic. Before even worrying about the actual show, there are mandatory rehearsals and sound checks, strings of seemingly endless interviews, and general last minute preparations to attend to. Fortunately, by this point, the chaos is something of a familiarity to Beca; it is the kind of chaos she is entirely used to, the kind she even kind of _enjoys_ , in fact—not quite her _favorite_ chaos, but it is at least up there.

Her favorite chaos is currently home in Georgia, visiting with family, while Beca sits comfortably in her dressing room—a strange place for an interview really—answering questions and periodically glancing distractedly at her phone as it lay face-up on the outstretched vanity beside her.

Thank God for technology; so much time away from home, away from her family… Beca is positive she wouldn’t be able to handle it, were it not for the relative ease of being able to pick up the phone and hear her favorite voices, see her favorite faces on the other side.

Usually, in spite of how busy her days are, there is a near constant flow of communication between her and Chloe, so it is kind of strange to Beca, the fact that her iMessage hasn’t pinged much over the course of the last few hours.

And it is not like Beca is _entirely_ clingy, like she needs to know where Chloe is and what she is doing twenty-four hours a day. She doesn’t even expect it, in fact; that would be unhealthy, and Beca is a healthy amount of clingy, just like Chloe is with her in return. It is the way they always have been, ever since that tacky dive bar back in college. Beca _can_ be without Chloe, she just...misses her wife and daughter when she is away from them, that’s all. Sue her.

“Beca? Is everything okay?”

The voice to jolt her from her own thoughts and lingering stare toward her dimmed phone screen belongs to her publicist, Alison. She is a familiar presence by this point, and Beca has learned to read every one of her expressions. The one she sees right now is at least some variation of quizzical as she eyes Beca cautiously.

“What?” Beca questions, neatly penciled brow arching slightly. Quickly, she shakes her head, forcing her mind back into the room, back to work. “Sorry, yeah, I’m good. What’s up?”

Alison silently motions with her head toward the interviewer whose name Beca has already forgotten. Her golden blonde hair is pulled back into a neat ponytail, and from certain angles, she almost reminds Beca a little bit of Aubrey Posen. She is not Aubrey, though; she is a writer for a magazine, and she is here to do a job, an interview… Something Beca had unintentionally zoned out of for a moment there.

“Yeah, sorry,” Beca clears her throat, “Uh, what was the question?”

“Oh,” the blonde glances down toward her notes, before bringing her expectant gaze back up to Beca’s face. “I said what would make this the perfect performance?”

“Right, right,” Beca nods, quickly forcing her game face back into place. It is pretty easy to do; it is very well rehearsed by now, after all. “Well, my wife and daughter being here, obviously.”

The polite smile on the interviewer’s face silently asks Beca to elaborate.

“Uh, they come to most of my shows. But unfortunately they couldn’t make it this time because Riley has a thing, so they’re back home with Chloe’s family in Georgia.”

“A thing?” The blonde asks with a small chuckle. Her tone is conversational as she continues, and honestly, Beca doesn’t mind it. Chloe and Riley really are her favorite subject; to an extent, she really could talk about them for days. “Full schedule already? How old is Riley?”

“She’s three,” Beca responds without missing a beat. “Almost four, actually. But totally going on, like, fourteen.”

In response, not-Aubrey laughs politely, before seemingly choosing her next question carefully, or at least its wording. “It must be...interesting, juggling a family and a music career. How do you do it?”

“Oh, yeah, I mean, it’s obviously difficult,” Beca shrugs a shoulder nonchalantly, “But we make it work. Like, take right now for example...” She slouches in her chair a little more comfortably, and as she speaks, her lips curve into a natural grin. “This past week, we were visiting with Chloe’s family for her parents’ anniversary. Riley met this kid, and I mean, you know how kids are, they basically became best friends right away. He invited her to his birthday party, and Chloe and I try to be really adamant about making sure Riley gets to experience being, you know, a normal kid. So, we shuffled some flights around and stuff, and now instead of all coming back to LA together like we were going to, I flew out for the show, and Chloe stayed back in Georgia with Riley so she can go to the birthday party.” She glances to the time on the wall clock. “She’s probably there right now, actually.”

The interviewer nods along, and it is clear that she is either interested—most people are when it comes to Beca’s personal life, after all—or at least she is very good at pretending. “That was really nice of you both to make that work for her.”

Beca waves off the unnecessary compliment, shoulder shrugging gently. She doesn’t _need_ complimenting for simply parenting. “My wife’s a superhero, especially when it comes to our daughter,” Beca smiles fondly, naturally. “She can make anything work.”

* * *

It feels incredibly strange to Chloe, being on this end of an interview. Normally, she is standing off to the side with Beca’s publicist and simply watching on with unmitigated pride as Beca answers questions about her music and their life together. She is used to the unforgiving flash of paparazzi cameras whenever she is by Beca’s side, but not so much to _this_.

If it had been up to Chloe, she wouldn’t have involved anybody else in this impromptu surprise. She and Riley would’ve simply shown up at Beca’s show and flashed toothy grins from the audience, and that would’ve been that. However, Beca’s schedule is always hectic, never quite predictable enough, so Chloe had had to get in touch with Alison to figure out exactly how to make this work.

And it had been Alison’s idea, this casual podcast interview with John and Gail, just a little behind the scenes thing really. She had arranged it all last minute, and ever the dutiful wife, Chloe had simply gone along with the plan. She may not be entirely used to the spotlight, but Chloe Beale is hardly shy, much like her and Beca’s daughter who currently plays happily off to the side with one of Beca’s handlers… She can handle it.

A comfortable quiet falls over the booth as John, dressed as usual like a news anchor in his formal suit, pushes a couple buttons—Chloe doesn’t pay much attention to the technical side—before he finally announces in a clear voice, “And we’re back.”

“That’s right, John. And we’re joined by Chloe Beale-Mitchell, wife of singer and fan favorite, Beca Mitchell,” Gail adds in her signature bright, composed tone. There is something about Gail, in her pretty shirt and comfortable blazer, that makes her much more approachable than her co-host. (Perhaps it is the lack of misogynistic comments; something that usually feature heavily in a typical John and Gail podcast.) “Chloe, thank you for being here.”

Unsurprisingly, Chloe feels no real nerves as the segment gets started, and graciously smiles in response to her brief introduction, in spite of the fact that the audience won’t be able to see her. There is nothing wrong with being polite toward the hosts, after all.

“Of course,” Chloe responds brightly, politely, “Thank you for having me.”

Just the way they should, the brief pleasantries move quickly into questions surrounding Beca’s show tonight—she is the famous one, after all—and Chloe answers each new query to the best of her ability.

“Do you get nervous when Beca performs?” Gail asks conversationally, almost like she is trying to steer the interview more toward Chloe. Not that Chloe particularly wants to talk about herself, but she can humor her. “How do _you_ prepare for one of her shows?”

“I mean, of course I do,” Chloe nods in response, chuckling softly as she loses herself momentarily in the thought of fond memories. She can recount many occasions that saw her stressing out while Beca remained as cool as a cucumber before a big performance. Clearly, there is a reason Beca is the celebrity here. “I think I get more nervous than even she does. But there isn’t really anything I can do to prepare. Beca is a professional, she’s a superhero. I just have to trust that she’s ready and I know she’s going to blow everybody’s minds when she’s on that stage.”

“No preparations for tonight’s show?” Gail questions thoughtfully.

“Who, me? No,” Chloe shakes her head, nose wrinkling slightly. “I’m actually not even supposed to be in LA right now. I mean, Beca doesn’t know I am, so this is probably the least prepared I’ve been.”

Both John and Gail eye her curiously at that, before Gail asks, “So, Beca doesn’t know you’ll be at the show tonight?”

Something of a mischievous grin stretches onto Chloe’s subtly painted lips, mostly because she cannot help mentally picturing Beca’s reaction. “No, she has no idea. She thinks I’m back in Georgia with my family and our daughter.” Ocean eyes glisten intensely with amusement. “But we both really hate missing her shows, so we shuffled some things around, and now here we are to surprise her.”

“Does she know you’re doing this interview?” John asks with a look of slight surprise.

Again, Chloe’s nose wrinkles in response. “Nope… How would she?” She chuckles quietly, “She doesn’t even know we’re in LA.”

“Try listening, John,” Gail says sarcastically, yet somehow with that same professional composure that tends to come through in all of her interactions. Though, she shoots a quick wink Chloe’s way, and Chloe finds that it is very easy to feel comfortable, even in a professional setting that she is not necessarily used to herself.

The rest of the interview is pretty breezy, mostly focused on Chloe’s plan to surprise Beca. They ask a few questions about Riley, just like everybody does, before eventually wrapping up with a couple handshakes and their well-wishes for a successful show tonight. While Chloe appreciates the interest and interacts cordially, she has to admit, she is happy to be done, and makes a swift beeline for her daughter once she is released from the confines of the booth.

“Mommy!” Riley chirps her usual high-pitched chirp, that adorable toothy grin of hers displayed proudly on her face. Her arms stretch out excitedly toward Chloe, who easily leans down to scoop her up. She cannot help but chuckle softly at the tight hug Riley’s tiny arms immediately engulf her in.

“All done,” Chloe grins brightly, resting Riley comfortably against her hip. “What do you say we go grab some food before we go surprise Mama, hm?”

* * *

It is perhaps somewhat fortunate for Beca, the fact that the utter chaos of her performance day picks up exponentially following her initial interview, and that she doesn’t have much time to worry about a lack of communication from Chloe. They share a brief phone call and exchange a couple text messages, but for the most part, Beca is stuck preparing, and Chloe is, presumably, busy navigating a children’s birthday party.

Chloe truly is Superwoman, Beca really does not know how she does it.

Normally, before a show, Chloe is backstage to give Beca a heartfelt, last minute pep talk, but they will have to make do with a quick FaceTime call today. Save for the fact that she’ll miss Chloe’s traditional good luck kiss, a video call really isn’t all bad; even if not physically, Beca will still get to _see_ Chloe, she’ll get to see Riley, and that is the important thing.

However, two attempts later and Beca, standing in her first outfit of the night and a face full of perfectly applied makeup, finds that getting the call to connect is proving to be a no-go. She may look like the picture of professionalism, but inside, Beca’s stress levels are beginning to soar.

“Shit,” she murmurs distractedly, holding the phone out in front of her as she tries (and fails) to connect for a third time.

“Five minutes, Beca,” she hears someone say from somewhere behind her, though she isn’t really paying attention. In fact, Beca is so lost in her own world, black polished fingernails tapping desperately at her partially cracked phone screen, that she doesn’t even register the pitter-patter of tiny, familiar footsteps approaching. It is not until she feels a tug on the skirt of her dress that she glances down to see—

“Oh, my God!” Beca blurts, immediately leaning down to scoop up her beaming daughter. It is impossible to wipe the natural, excited grin from her face. “What are you doing here?”

Riley giggles almost mischievously in response in a way that reminds Beca so much of Chloe, before throwing her arms around Beca’s neck to wrap her in a tight greeting hug. “Watching your show!” the three-year-old exclaims brightly, and Beca doesn’t even have to look up to know exactly whose hand is resting against her shoulder.

Of course, the moment she does, and her gaze locks with that beautiful, familiar shade of blue, she practically melts right there and then.

And it is pathetic really; they have only been apart for one night and day so far, but Beca just...she just likes to be in Chloe’s company, the same way Chloe likes to be in hers. Maybe it is clingy and weird, maybe even a little co-dependent of them, but they are in love, they are allowed to be. So, Beca doesn’t care. She doesn’t care about anything but her favorite, compact little bubble, the one she finds herself floating in as she leans over to accept a welcomed kiss from her wife’s soft, familiar lips.

“Hi,” Chloe grins that same grin their daughter had worn only moments before. It reaches her eyes in a way that sends sparks of electricity rushing throughout Beca’s entire body. “Surprised?”

“Surprise!” Riley yells a little too late, though Beca pushes a shocked expression to her face in response, and melts once again beneath Riley’s squeal of excitement over her evidently _perfectly_ executed plan.

“Yeah, I’m surprised,” Beca chuckles softly, shifting Riley carefully to rest against her hip with one arm held securely around her, while the other reaches out to wrap instinctively around Chloe’s middle. “What happened? What about Jake’s birthday party?”

Until this very moment, it has not occurred to her that anything could actually be wrong. Though, Chloe fortunately dampens the worry with her response before it even properly gets the chance to surface.

“Miss Riley over here decided she wanted to see Mama’s show,” she shrugs, arms lifting to wrap loosely around Beca’s neck. Her body easily twists to properly face her, and in turn, Beca’s palm rests against the small of Chloe’s back, soft fingertips brushing delicately through the fabric of her shirt. “We figured something out where Riley and Jake can play together soon, and they’re gonna FaceTime each other this weekend, huh, baby?”

“Yep!” Riley nods dutifully in response, her loose auburn curls dancing rhythmically with the motion. Man, she really is _so_ much like Chloe… And Beca still totally misses when her version of ‘yep’ used to be _dep_.

“It was all her idea,” Chloe continues breezily, “I just went along with it. But I mean, I’m kind of glad.” As she speaks in a softer, quieter voice, her initially loose arms tighten some, body moving closer toward Beca. Beca watches Chloe’s expression with a soft smirk of her own. “I was missing my Beca, too.”

“Wow, you’re so obsessed with me,” Beca teases playfully, easily accepting the gentle peck Chloe presses to her lips.

Although she is of course lost in her own perfect little world, Beca registers the clear of a throat, followed by the sound of her name. It is one of the stage people awkwardly trying to hurry her along, so Beca pushes a quick kiss to Riley’s rosy cheek, before setting her carefully down on her feet. “You guys watching from back here?”

“No, VIP,” Chloe says with a quick shake of her head. She reaches down to connect her hand with Riley’s, who dutifully wraps her small fingers around Chloe’s. “We should probably go grab Riles her headphones, huh?” She glances down toward Riley with a gentle smile. “Come on, you.”

“VIP tickets? Man, how’d you swing those?” Beca jokes, the playful eye roll Chloe shoots her way in response causing her to chuckle under her breath. “Alright, I guess I’ll see you out there, then.”

“You will,” Chloe agrees, beginning to gently tug Riley away. Though, she pauses briefly, kind eyes locking instinctively with Beca’s. “Oh, and Bec? I know you don’t need me to tell you you’re gonna kill it out there,” she says with a soft, reassuring smile. Her voice softens, and Beca notes the sheer genuinity to her words. “You are though, baby. You always do.”

* * *

This is what Beca does, this is her job, but that doesn’t keep a certain, distinct sense of nerves from bubbling up within her before performing for a sold out arena. It is a feeling like no other, a rush of adrenaline that Beca needs to even make it through the entirety of the show.

So, maybe it is cheesy… No, it’s _definitely_ cheesy, the fact that all Beca has to do, as the small cutaway lift carries her up to the center of the stage, is to glance over to take in the beaming expressions on her two favorite faces to pretty much forget about the countless other eyes trained expectantly on her.

Chloe and Riley are who Beca performs for. She loves her fans, sure, but her wife and daughter have always been who Beca performs for. They make all of the nerves, all of the hard work and the genuine fear of somehow messing up fly away in an instant. So, Beca’s grin is a genuine one as she lifts the microphone to her lips, and the instrumental music of her first song begins to spill out around the arena.

_“Honey honey  
_ _I can see the stars all the way from here…  
_ _Can’t you see the glow on the window pane?  
_ _I can feel the sun whenever you’re near.”_

As she sings, Beca ignores the cheers from the crowd, and instead glances solely toward Chloe. The knowing smirk mirrored back toward her from the VIP box beside the stage is so comforting, so familiar…

_“Every time you touch me I just melt away.”_

Her family really could be the only other people in the room.

* * *

Although going on fourteen, in reality, Riley is three-years-old. So, it is not surprising that, by the time the show ends way later than her usual bedtime, she has fallen asleep in the comfort of her cushioned car seat before they even make it back to their Los Angeles home.

There is really no point in waking her, a silent thought shared mentally between Beca and Chloe as they pull into their driveway. Instead, Beca carefully unfastens her from the security of the seat to rest her against her chest while Chloe deals with locking the car and letting them into their admittedly oversized house. And this is really not something Beca would ever trade, she realizes as she quietly carries Riley up the stairs and to her pastel yellow bedroom; in her thirties now, Beca doesn’t care about aftershow parties, she doesn’t care to drink and mingle with industry people. She would much rather be here, setting her daughter down safely in her big girl bed, and just enjoying this priceless, irreplaceable time with her family.

Briefly, as Beca steps back to quietly admire her sleeping baby, she is transported back to her earlier interview, to the question alluding to the difficulties of balancing a music career and a family. It _is_ difficult, undoubtedly so, but she and Chloe make it work. They always make it work, and Beca wouldn’t change their setup for the world.

As per routine, Beca leaves Riley’s door open just a crack, and finds herself tiptoeing quietly away in an effort not to accidentally disturb her. As always, she is careful to avoid the creaking floorboard in her path.

Of course, Chloe is not far behind—not that Beca is complaining.

“She’s still sleeping?” Chloe asks in a soft whisper by Beca’s ear, the small puff of cold air causing a shiver down Beca’s spine. Easily, her hands find their way to the indents of Beca’s small waist, and Beca instinctively tips her head gently to the side to accommodate the incoming kiss Chloe’s parted lips drop to the exposed skin of her neck.

“Like a baby,” Beca murmurs quietly in response, body slowly twisting to properly face Chloe. In turn, her arms rise to wrap loosely around her neck, blue-gray eyes locking with blue only briefly, before she stretches upward to push a lingering kiss to Chloe’s pouted lips. The loose hold of her arms tighten at the same time as Chloe’s slip comfortably around her waist.

“Good,” Chloe whispers into the kiss, shuffling slowly backward and toward their bedroom. Almost in sync, two sets of arms eagerly tighten their hold, until they are eventually falling with connected lips onto the plush mattress of their king-sized bed, Chloe’s parted legs straddling Beca’s thighs.

“You were incredible tonight,” she mumbles as her lips begin to trail from their place against Beca’s and over toward the exposed skin of her newly stretched jaw. Each peck of her lips is so deliberate, so soothing and coddling, it is easy for Beca to lose herself in the feeling without a second thought.

“Yeah?” Beca murmurs in response, fingertips trailing along the smooth lines of Chloe’s back in their slow path toward the hem of her shirt. She can practically feel hot skin prickling beneath her touch as her hands slip beneath the loose fabric, traveling upward in an effort to remove the garment.

“Mhm,” Chloe nods, though it is clear she is much more focused now on the way her parted lips, eager and hungry, trail wet, open-mouthed kisses over the smooth curve of Beca’s shoulder. She only loses contact to eventually sit upward in a bid to tug off her own shirt the rest of the way, followed quickly by helping Beca out of hers.

And it has only been one night and one day, but anybody would think it had been at least a month since they had gotten to touch one another, judging by the way desperate hands eagerly remove the various barriers of unwanted clothing between them, until Beca lays entirely naked on the mattress, with Chloe’s completely exposed body, beautiful and familiar, hovering over the top of her own.

“God,” Beca breathes unsteadily as Chloe’s already kiss-swollen lips begin to dust needy kisses over the bare hill of her breast. Her head ducks and her lips part to wrap around the peak of Beca’s pebbled nipple, the sensation sending a sharp spread of heat surging between Beca’s parted thighs.

“Fuck, I missed you,” Beca murmurs through an already shallow breath, hand sliding up the hot skin of Chloe’s exposed back, until her fingers are looping through the back of soft, shoulder-length auburn curls.

Although Chloe doesn’t verbally respond, Beca can feel the smug smirk to twist onto the corners of her lips as she releases Beca’s stiffened nipple with a soft, distinct _pop_. She doesn’t need words to know that Chloe missed her too, not when she can feel it in the way she trails open-mouthed kisses downward over prickling skin, over that one sensitive patch on her hip that causes Beca’s breath to catch in her throat every single time.

The moment Chloe settles between her already spread thighs, easily nudging them further apart, Beca practically melts into the mattress. Her body, trembling gently beneath the feeling of Chloe’s pointed tongue pushing slowly through sensitive folds, causes Beca’s hips to push upward in an effort to feel more… More of this, more of _Chloe_.

Lips wrapped around swollen flesh, the flattened surface of a warm tongue stroking expertly as two fingers sink deeply inside of her dripping cunt, is all it takes to have Beca biting down harshly onto her bottom lip to keep herself from screaming Chloe’s name. As they push their way more deeply inside, spreading Beca further open, the tips of Chloe’s fingers curl to brush against pulsing walls, and Beca really cannot hold back her reactions no matter how hard she tries. Her trembling fingers, tangled through auburn curls, clutch more tightly, more possessively, and a series of soft moans and desperate whimpers fall from her lips as Chloe’s expert movements pull her quickly closer to her natural edge.

Almost too quickly for her liking, Beca comes with writhing hips and Chloe’s tongue stroking softly against her, Chloe’s contact only breaking once Beca’s verbal reactions become too loud for the surrounding silence of night time in a family home.

“Shh,” Chloe whispers softly, lips beginning to kiss their way back up Beca’s sensitive body. Her chin glistens with evidence of Beca’s arousal as they eventually come face to face once more.

Beca is still panting, still whimpering as her other hand loosens its grip on the bedsheets to instead lift upward and into the back of Chloe’s hair. She uses the hold to tug her closer, until eager lips are pushing hungrily against Chloe’s. Beca can taste herself in the kiss, can feel the way Chloe giggles quietly under her breath in reaction.

“Holy fuck,” Beca murmurs, head tipping back into the mattress as Chloe pulls just slightly away. Beca’s fingers remain in her hair, though their grip has loosened some, and Chloe’s face, hovering over her own, wears a smirk that Beca can _see_ so clearly behind her tightly closed lids.

“I missed you too, baby,” Chloe chuckles breathily as she tips her face to push a soft, lingering kiss to Beca’s swollen lips.

Beca is still trying to catch her breath, body still moving, still trembling, gently beneath Chloe’s. “I’m so glad our kid decided to blow off that birthday party,” she mumbles quietly, lids fluttering open to take in the familiar sight of Chloe above her, disheveled and beautiful, eyes hooded and sparkling in a way that causes Beca’s thighs to naturally clench.

“Me too,” Chloe agrees with a soft smirk, easily allowing Beca to roll her onto her back as she finally switches their positions.

It has been a long day, but time seems to fade quickly away as Beca stares down at one of her favorite faces, taking in the glimmer in those lust-filled, darkened eyes. Long days are nothing when you’re married to the closest thing the real world is ever going to come to a superhero, though… Beca is fine with a long night, too.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, [this is me](http://chloebeale.tumblr.com)! And [this is the gif set](https://chloebeale.tumblr.com/post/632967781358436353/its-hard-sometimes-juggling-a-music-career-and-a) this one-shot is derived from.


End file.
